<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Promises Kept by Eliizabethx</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25970080">Promises Kept</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliizabethx/pseuds/Eliizabethx'>Eliizabethx</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Once Upon A Descendant [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Once Upon a Time (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - August Stayed, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baby Emma Swan, Family Feels, Gen, If August Didn't Abandon Baby Emma, Pinocchio | August Booth &amp; Emma Swan Friendship, Pre-Season/Series 01, Young Pinocchio | August Booth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 10:01:53</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,278</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25970080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eliizabethx/pseuds/Eliizabethx</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Pinocchio made a promise, so he stays.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Pinocchio | August Booth &amp; Emma Swan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Once Upon A Descendant [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1884943</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Promises Kept</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He sifts through the toolbox carefully, looking for a wrench or screwdriver to tighten the legs on Emma’s crib. He had noticed it wobbling a little bit when one of their caretakers had last fed Emma, and he was worried the bed would collapse.</p>
<p>He wishes they had the wooden cradle his papa had made for the Princess, he knows Emma would have been much more comfortable in that, plus he could have rocked her when she was upset.</p>
<p>Like now.</p>
<p>He stands up as the baby starts crying, turning to watch her as her little arms wave through the air in her upset.</p>
<p>“Shh, shh,” he hushes. “Don’t cry, Emma. Here, watch me.”</p>
<p>He pulls his ears and sticks out his tongue, making silly noises when her head turns towards him, and he can’t help smiling as she quiets.</p>
<p>He feels a burst of pride when a tiny smile makes her face go scrunchy, something she only seems to do for him.</p>
<p>“See, that’s better, right?” He smiles again, reaching through the bars to brush his fingers over her tiny fist before going back to the tools.</p>
<p>“Do those tools belong to you?” A cold voice asks, and he looks up to see one of the home’s ‘caretakers’.</p>
<p>“I was just trying to fix the crib!” He tries to explain, nervous at the man’s angry expression. “I didn’t want Emma to fall out and get hurt.”</p>
<p>“Don’t <em>ever</em> touch anything in this house again, <em>nothing</em> belongs to you,” the man says. “Do you understand?”</p>
<p>“Yes, Mr. Raskin.”</p>
<p>When the man storms out he slides back towards Emma, smiling faintly when he sees she’s still watching him.</p>
<p>He reaches out and lightly sits his hand over her tummy, which makes Emma smile a little again as her eyes close briefly. He’d started to notice her eyes turning a little green in the last few days, which had alarmed him until Mrs. Raskin had told him that babies' eyes usually change colors as they grow.</p>
<p>He wonders if she’ll have green eyes like Queen Snow then, or if she’ll keep her blue eyes like the King.</p>
<p>“Hey.” He turns to see one of the older boys leaning in the doorway. “You okay?”</p>
<p>He nods, still feeling a little awkward around the other kids in the home.</p>
<p>“Can you keep a secret?” The boy asks suddenly, pulling his hand from his pockets to show a bundle of paper money after he nods.</p>
<p>“Where’d you get that?” Pinnochio asks, a little awed at how much he can see.</p>
<p>“I stole it from the sock drawer,” he whispers, glancing nervously around before continuing excitedly. “It’s enough to buy us <em>all</em> bus tickets out of here.”</p>
<p>“You’re leaving? When?”</p>
<p>“<em>Right now.</em> You wanna come?”</p>
<p>He looks down at Emma, who is waving her arms again as she looks up at them.</p>
<p>“I promised my father I would take care of Emma,” he says. “Can she come? <em>Please?</em>"</p>
<p>“We can’t take care of a baby!” The other boy says, looking at Pinnochio incredulously. “If you wanna stay here for the rest of your life, be my guest.”</p>
<p>He watches the boy walk away, feeling conflicted as he watches him join the other kids.</p>
<p>“Wait!” He says, not even fully deciding to speak before he does, and taking a panicked step forward. The others all turn to look at him and all he can think about is what his father had told him, about not being able to see his papa for twenty-eight years.</p>
<p>He looks down at Emma in her crib, still watching him as he slowly approaches. He reaches through the bars again and her tiny hand suddenly reaches out, wrapping tightly around one of his fingers, and as he feels the heat from her skin he feels tears prick at his eyes.</p>
<p>He promised his papa that he would protect her, that he would help her do what she had to. But he was just a kid, he was only six, he couldn’t even fix her crib for her.</p>
<p>But she was only a baby.</p>
<p>He wasn’t even supposed to be here, it should have been Snow, it should have been Emma’s mama here with her. His papa had lied and sent him through instead, because he wanted to protect him from the curse.</p>
<p>Just like the King and Queen wanted to protect Emma.</p>
<p>He promised.</p>
<p>“Be careful,” he finds himself saying, turning to look at the other kids sadly. The older boy looks baffled by his choice, but they all turn away and quickly disappear from the room.</p>
<p>He looks back down at Emma, seeing her smiling again, and he feels awful.</p>
<p>He almost abandoned her.</p>
<p>His papa and the Blue Fairy would be so disappointed with him…</p>
<p>“Sorry, Emma,” he whispers, pressing a kiss to the fingers of his free hand and touching it to her forehead, gently brushing them across her soft skin as she yawns.</p>
<p>Later, after their caretakers had realized the others were gone, they told him that they were sending him away because he was a <em>thief</em>.</p>
<p>He tried to explain that he hadn’t taken the money, but they didn’t care.</p>
<p>He asked if Emma was coming with him but they told him there was another family planning to adopt her, and he panicked again.</p>
<p>He knew from some of the others that siblings were rarely adopted together, or even fostered in the same home, and he knew that lying was <em>bad</em>.</p>
<p>But he couldn’t lose her.</p>
<p>He had made a promise to his papa, and he had made a promise to <em>Emma</em>. They couldn’t separate them!</p>
<p>So he lied.</p>
<p>“But I’m her brother!” He exclaims. “We have to be together!”</p>
<p>Mr. Raskin doesn’t care, but his wife is fond of Emma so the couple agrees to talk to the social worker. Pinnochio hopes Blue understands this lie since he’d only done it to stay with Emma.</p>
<p>That night, after the Raskins have gone to bed, he sneaks into Emma’s nursery when he hears her start fussing, carefully lifting her from the crib and tucking her blanket back around her when she wrestles one of her arms free to latch onto the collar of his shirt.</p>
<p>He settles with his back against the crib, hugging her against his chest like he’s seen Mrs. Raskin do and rocking her gently as he whispers to her.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, Emma. I’m not gonna leave you, I promise,” he says, brushing his fingers over her forehead again in the hopes it makes her sleepy like it usually does. “I’m sorry I almost did before… I was scared, and I miss Papa. I bet you miss your parents too, but I’ll take care of you, okay? I told them we were family, and Papa says family is always there for each other.”</p>
<p>She makes a quiet cooing noise and smiles at him again, so he impulsively leans in and presses a kiss to her head, scrunching his nose a little against her ticklish baby hair. She laughs delightedly and he smiles back at her.</p>
<p>She’s so tiny and soft. He can’t believe it sometimes, that one day she’ll be big like him.</p>
<p>He brushes one finger over her cheeks and nose, wondering if she’ll have freckles like him one day, and if her hair will stay the pale gold color it is now or if it’ll turn darker like Snow’s.</p>
<p>Her eyes drift closed and her fist loosens a little, allowing him to free his shirt and tuck her arm back into her blanket.</p>
<p>“Sweet dreams, Emma,” he whispers, laying her in the crib again before returning to his designated bed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's 2am and I just finished writing this. Haven't edited much, but I like it.<br/>Part of a larger AU I've been adding drabbles to for the last couple months and it seemed fitting to post this one first, since y'know, it's basically the start of Emma's life.</p>
<p>I hope you enjoyed! Please feel free to leave a comment, I always reply and they make my week! ^^<br/>You can find me on tumblr at <a href="http://www.elvhenwitch.tumblr.com">ElvhenWitch</a> ♥ and twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/elfbich">Elfbich</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>